In October of 2021, I shoved myself into the small cockpit of my grandfather's 1946 Luscombe. This was the first time my parents had allowed me to go flying with him, and I could not have been more excited. We flew over the mountains to New Hampshire, landing on a small grass strip, fields of flowers surrounding us. Truly, this was one of the best days of my life, and my interest for aviation grew as I continued to fly with my grandfather at least once a week. Later, I joined the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) where I began flight training in September of 2024. I currently hold a class one medical certificate and a student pilot's license. At just seven hours of official flight training I was close to getting a solo endorsement. Unfortunately, I was unable to be endorsed because of an engine failure during a go around which cost the plane a new cylinder. This meant that the plane had to go through extensive maintenance in order to be considered airworthy again. As of November 2024, the issues are not fixed so I am unable to continue training.I did not let this scare stop me though. The next week I was back in the plane with my grandfather, flying to new airports across Maine and New Hampshire, learning how to read charts and plan a cross country flight. I could not be more excited to pursue a career in aviation, and I feel that the experience I’ve had makes me a strong candidate for professional programs. The reason I chose to take on this career is to better serve my community. This is something that has always been a goal for me and I have done everything I can by organizing clubs, volunteering at events and institutions, and being a member of CAP. An experience in aviation that has had a positive effect on me is volunteering at the Greenville International Sea-Plane Fly In. In September of 2024, I spent two days learning how to marshall and move around sea-planes. Though this was the main reason I was volunteering, I also made new friends and connections. The group of individuals I was with all had a clear interest in aviation and this motivated me further to continue making connections and talking to people with shared interests. Through college I hope to maintain these connections for the future. I am not 100 percent sure where my career in aviation will take me yet, but a dream of mine is to be a pilot for the Coast Guard. Search and rescue has been another passion of mine and I can see myself in that world after I graduate college. In June of 2024, I had the opportunity to attend a flight on the KC-135 with my CAP squadron. This experience opened my eyes to the possibilities of a career in aviation and reminded me why aviation is important. I believe one of the reasons aviation is important is because of the effect it can have on others. Many citizens from every community rely on air travel and aviation to see loved ones, travel to work and events, and keep their country safe. My ultimate goal for a career in aviation is to help others, whether it is getting others where they need to go safely, conducting search and rescue missions, or flying into hurricanes to gather weather information, I will be happy with any of these. I cannot wait to begin a professional career in aviation, and I am going to continue doing everything I can to get there.